Feature

Executive Ministry Director’s 2017 Annual Report

It continues to be our great joy and privilege to serve our Lord and Savior and His Church through the ministry of the Michigan Association of Regular Baptist Churches. Hardly a day goes by without recognizing in some practical way the importance and benefits of this ministry to the churches and servants in our network. My report shares a few of the reasons why this has been true in the past year.

Refining the Core Values of the Association.

The Council of 16 is a source of personal blessing as they seek to passionately lead with biblical conviction. They are deeply invested in the future of our association. An example of this has been their ongoing work of refining the MARBC’s Core Values. A series of “regional forums” were held in each of the seven regional associations to seek input from the association. These meetings were well attended by those serving in MARBC churches, as well as several pastors from unaffiliated churches. The discussion at each gathering was both edifying and encouraging.

A Council task force reviewed the comments received at the forums and submitted a refined set of core values for approval. The original seven statements were narrowed to four: (1) biblically and doctrinally resolute, (2) progressing in ministry mindset and method, (3) pursuing cultural and generational diversity, and, (4) engaging our neighbors.

Church Revitalization.

A major emphasis of our ministry this year involved the further development of a practical plan for the revitalization of struggling churches in the association. This revitalization will be implemented on a regional basis. Churches within a region are being asked to help assist a struggling sister church that agrees to submit to a partnership.

An example of this is happening at Montrose Baptist Church, who is receiving significant assistance from South Baptist Church in Flint along with input from the MARBC office. Pastoral and financial resources are being provided to help the Montrose ministry revitalize. Other MARBC churches in the region plan to offer their assistance. At least two other revitalization projects are currently being developed for implementation in 2018 in other parts of the state.

Pastoral Search Assistance.

A prominent part of the Ministry Director’s personal ministry involves assisting churches and pastors in times of transition. This important process is both time and labor intensive. The spiritual fruit realized as a result of this investment makes it worthwhile.

Interpas Ministries.

A recent development has enhanced the association’s effectiveness in ministering to churches facing such a need. Shortly after the conclusion of the 2016 MARBC Conference, the leadership of Interpas Ministries approached me with the proposal that their ministry come under the direction of the MARBC Ministry Director. They reasoned that much of the recruiting and facilitating of churches in need of pastors was already being done through the MARBC office.

Interpas was founded by Dr. Wilbert Welch 30 years ago and has served dozens of local churches, many of them in association with the MARBC. The ministry provides interim pastors for churches willing to follow its policies. Men who serve with Interpas are screened and interviewed by an Interpas review committee. The Council of 16 approved bringing Interpas Ministries “under the umbrella” of the MARBC in its June meeting.

Our office is now receiving calls and inquiries from churches in Michigan, as well as a few other states. Since we anticipate the retirement a large number of “Boomer” pastors there will be a great need for new pastors in the next decade and a strong demand for interim pastors. We will be recruiting retiring pastors to join Interpas to help meet the demands of these churches.

Statistics from the 2016-17 ministry year…

• Travel: Over 26,600 miles on behalf of the MARBC this past year.

• Vehicle: God blessed the association this past summer with the opportunity to purchase a vehicle for use by the ministry director. Our thanks to the churches and individuals who gave to this project. A special thanks to the Grand Rapids Women’s Missionary Union for raising nearly $9,000. This enabled us to purchase a 2015 Ford Fusion in late June.

• Church assistance: Speaking 90 times in 54 churches; 150+ meetings in-person and online for counseling and consulting; promoting CPR ministry opportunities

• Pastoral assistance: Assisted 14 churches in the call of a new pastor; conducted 18 pastoral search orientations; shared at 8 pastor installation services and 8 ordination councils

• Strategic planning: led 4 churches through strategic planning seminar weekends and follow up coaching

• Office: continued to implement cost saving methods; prepared two-dozen MARBC Messenger communications.

• Eleven years! We celebrate God’s blessings as we complete our eleventh year serving the association.

To God be the glory!

God recently added another precious grandchild to our family. We give thanks to God for our dear daughter Allison, her husband Taylor, and our five grandchildren – Connor (8), Eloise (6), Malachi (3), Emmaline (16 months), and Camille (born October 11)!

It has been our blessing during these 11 years of service to partner with two special individuals who volunteer their time to assist the MARBC in important support roles. Karen Avey continues to effectively serve as the MARBC bookkeeper, as well as giving Sharon some practical assistance from time to time with office matters. Kevin Pierpont not only continues his service as the MARBC’s web master, but also oversees the Interpas Ministries website. Both are a great blessing to us and are to be commended for their conscientious, quality ministries.

One of the greatest blessings of serving the Lord through the MARBC ministry is the opportunity to serve side by side with my wonderful wife, Sharon. She is such a personal joy and I know that she is an encouragement to each of you who have the opportunity to interact with her. Yes, it is true that we really do like working and serving together in the office and on the road.

We praise God for His compassion and sustaining grace as we have dealt with serious health needs with Ken’s parents in Ohio and extended elderly family members in Florida. Your prayer support and encouragement as we have dealt with these needs has been greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your continuing prayer and financial support. Do not hesitate to contact us to seek our assistance, share a prayer request, or celebrate a blessing in your life or ministry. We thank our God upon every remembrance of you.

Partnering with you and praying for you,

Ken and Sharon Floyd

A Christmas Meditation

IF I WERE GOD…

Would I have come to earth as a babe
To be born in a run down manger,
Surrounded by malodorous animals
Who to a baby could mean danger?

At the risk of perilous disease
From the livestock or in the hay.
If I were God coming to earth,
Shouldn’t there be a better way?

If I were the God of the universe
Who created the heavens and the earth;
And if I chose to come as a baby,
How would that show My ultimate worth?

If I were God, would I come only
Garbed in swaddling clothes?
Would I depend on others to change
My diapers and wipe my nose?

Of all the places I could live
Would I choose Nazareth to dwell?
Would I live as a lowly carpenter’s son?
Is that the trade that I should learn well?

If I were God, would I choose to die
On a cross from a rough-hewn tree?
Would I stand still to be spat upon
As they jeered & cursed at me?

If I were the omnipotent God;
It would be impossible for Me to sin,
So, why would I lay down My life
For a race of wicked men?

If I were God, what would I give
To save man from eternal death?
Would I offer myself to bleed and die?
Would I give my very last breath?

If I were God in the form of man
What would I do to meet that need?
Ah! But He was God in the form of man
And He did give His life indeed.

Sandy Schimpf, a faithful member of Northeastern Baptist Church in Kalamazoo, wrote this poem in 2007 after attending a Christmas concert with Northeastern’s Silver Saints group in Shipshewana, Indiana. The concert featured the Collingswood Family.

Sandy shared this note with us several years ago: “Kim Collingswood shared some thoughts during the concert about something she had read or heard recently: ‘If you were God, would you come to earth to lie as a baby in a bed of straw? If you were God, would you come as a baby to have someone change your diaper?’ That thought immediately took up residence in my mind and continued to grow throughout the remainder of the concert and on the way home. When I arrived home that night after 11:00, I headed for my computer and this is the result.”

Sandy is enjoying her first Christmas with her Savior, having been ushered into His presence earlier this year. We are grateful to share this poem with you as you prepare to celebrate Immanuel.

Christmas Greetings from Ken and Sharon Floyd

Ken and Sharon with their 5 grandchildren: Connor (8), Ella(6) , Emmaline (18 months), Malachi (3), and Camille (2 months)

We thank God for His abundant blessings as we minister together for God’s glory and on behalf of the MARBC fellowship. What a joy it is to meet so many wonderful servants of God in our frequent travels. We are encouraged by your expressions of appreciation and prayer support.

It is a great honor to enter our twelfth year serving you as representatives of this Biblically sound church network whose heritage is rich and whose potential for Great Commission influence is strong.

Thank you for your ministry partnership and financial stewardship that enables this to happen. We know that many of you pray regularly and give sacrificially. God is using our association to make an eternal impact!

We pray that you and your family will be especially encouraged during the Christmas season as you rejoice in “Immanuel – God is with us!”

Rejoicing in the Lord and thanking Him for you,
Ken and Sharon Floyd

The Bridge!

One of our ministry road trips in Michigan recently afforded us a luxury that people over 60 years ago could not enjoy. We will journey into Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and back via the Mackinac Bridge. No matter how many times you cross its magnificent five-mile span, you are amazed by this amazing structure and its impact upon the region.

According to the Mackinac Bridge Authority website, the Mackinac Bridge is currently the longest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere and the third longest suspension bridge in the world. The bridge, which opened to traffic on November 1, 1957, is five miles long and contains 42,000 miles of wire in its main cables. The height of the roadway at mid-span is approximately 200 feet above water level.

All suspension bridges are designed to move to accommodate wind, change in temperature, and weight. It is possible that the deck at center span could move as much as 35 feet (east or west) due to high winds. This would only happen under severe wind conditions. The deck would not swing or sway but rather move slowly in one direction based on the force and direction of the wind. After the wind subsides, the weight of the vehicles crossing would slowly move it back into center position.

Click here for more information regarding the history of the Mackinac Bridge

It was a joy during our last pastorate to have in our church a retired church-planting missionary couple who had served their Lord in the Upper Peninsula. During our visits with them, they loved to tell us about their past days of service for Christ in pioneer church work in Michigan’s northland region and to show us pictures and memorabilia from their ministry there. They told us of the isolation they experienced during the long winters and how the area changed in their later days of ministry. When questioned about what changed things in those later years they quickly responded, “Oh, the bridge changed everything.” Indeed, the building of the Mackinac Bridge opened up that beautiful region to many people who had never experienced it before.

It’s amazing the difference a bridge can make. Bridges make it possible to cross dangerous passages or normally uncross able chasms. As a result, places and people who were once disconnected have the capability of connection. And for those fearful of the passage over such a structure, special services are offered. Because of the imposing nature of the “Mighty Mac” there is actually Bridge Authority Driver Assistance Program. Bridge Authority workers deal with people afflicted with “gephyrophobia” every day (gephyra is Greek for bridge). Each year over one thousand gephyrophobes hand over their keys to Bridge Authority workers to be chauffeured from one side of the bridge to the other.

The bridge service is free of charge. One area resident frequently uses this service and shares, “This service is wonderful! I never have to wait more than 15 minutes. And they always do what I ask: They stay in the middle, away from the edge!” FYI, the census of gephyrophobes is evenly divided between males and females!

What is true in relation to physical barriers is also true in the spiritual realm. From the earliest days of human existence there has been a deep seated acknowledgement of the terrifying gulf that is fixed between God and man. Job bemoans this undeniable fact for all of humanity when he declares in Job 9:33, “Nor is there any mediator between us, who may lay his hand on us both.” Job desired a mediator, an arbitrator who would understand both parties and bring them together. He desired someone who could bridge that gap.

What Job cried out for near the beginning of human existence was answered by God centuries later when “the Father sent [His] Son as Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14). God becomes man! Jesus lives as we live, feels as we feel, and solves the great problem between mankind and God. The Bible declares that Jesus has bridged the eternal chasm between a holy God and unholy sinners by His death for their sins.

One of the terms used in the Bible to describe this action by Christ is the word “reconcile.” To “reconcile” means to bring two parties together. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 shares the wonderful news regarding the bridge of reconciliation that God has constructed: “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ … that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them.”

Next week Christians will commemorate the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. We do this because it is Christ Who makes it possible for a relationship to take place between us and God. 2 Timothy 2:5-6 affirms this by stating, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all.” Jesus is the Mediator, the Bridge that crosses the godless chasm of sinful depravity. He is also the One who offers passage for “spiritual gephryophobes,” making it possible for repentant sinners to receive forgiveness and cleansing and become the children of God. 1 Corinthians 15:56-57 declares: “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The next time you cross an impressive bridge structure remember the great love and sacrifice offered by “the Man Christ Jesus” in bridging the gap between yourself and God. And, rejoice that safe passage across the bridge is provided through the same Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ!

“There’s a bridge to cross the great divide
A way was made to reach the other side
The mercy of the Father, cost His son His life
His love is deep, His love is wide
There’s a cross to bridge the great divide”

“By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us” (1 John 3:16).

You have His Word on it! (KEF)

2017 Conference Messages

Four MARBC pastors each chose a Biblical text that illustrates the application of one of the four core values.

In Search of Soul Satisfaction, John 4

Jeff Burr, host pastor serving at Forest Hills Baptist Church and current Vice Chairman of the MARBC Council of 16, shared in the first general session. He opened his message by sharing a brief overview of the decline of Kodak as its industry’s gold standard. The business thoroughly dominated its technological field but lost sight of it’s corporate vision. Burr then traced how Jesus overcame various barriers in sharing the gospel with those he encountered using the narrative of John 4.

Shepherding All the Sheep,” 1 Peter 5

Mark Cizauskas, lead pastor of First Baptist Church in Rochester and current Treasurer of the MARBC Council of 16, focused upon Peter’s admonition to pastors from 1 Peter 5:1-4. Keying on the core value, pursuing cultural and generational diversity, Mark emphasized the critical role pastors play in modeling gospel ministry. It must be a ministry that does not play favorites but reaches out to all demographics in the local body and in the community. “Peter challenges the pastor to ‘shepherd the flock which is among you.'” The pastor is called to shepherd the redeemed and they in turn will impact the community.”

Staying on the Line, Mark 7

Preaching on the morning of October 31, Ross Shannon, lead pastor of First Baptist Church in Lapeer, acknowledged his excitement in sharing a message on the importance of Sola Scriptura on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Ross examined the interaction of Jesus with the Pharisees as they reacted to what they considered as the disciples’ unorthodox dining habits. He stated that while association churches and pastors should seek to uphold the core value of remaining “Biblically and doctrinally resolute,” care must be taken to “stay on the line, not above it by adding to the truth; or below it, subtracting from it.” Reflecting upon Jesus’ response to the Pharisees, Shannon stated that “Jesus is against those who go above the line. When we go a above the line, the line isn’t protected or obscured, but is erased.”

Walking the Ministry Tightrope, Acts 6

One of the four core values embraced by the MARBC is “progressing in ministry mindset and method.”

Utilizing an opening illustration about a tightrope walker crossing over Niagara Falls, Bob McNeil discussed the ministry tightrope that the Jerusalem church had to walk as they dealt with the pressing spiritual needs within its body. The church leaders needed to properly address the demands of two extremely different groups who were now a part of the church: formerly Orthodox Jews and Greek converts. “They sought to keep a biblically healthy balance: they were tied to the text [of scripture] but were also open to change … Healthy churches are always addressing the need to change.” Biblically engaging the culture demands a church that is willing to make changes in its approach to that culture. McNeil then noted the key to the Jerusalem church’s ability to navigate change in a God glorifying manner – they were committed to prayer. “The power of God is accessed through prayer. They didn’t pray and then say, ‘we’re going to do what we’ve always done.'” Peter had to learn this the hard way … It took three visions from God before he would change and reach out to the Gentiles. Likewise, Paul had to learn through out his missionary journeys that he had to change the approach of his message, depending upon his audience.